Doom of Irafan

On to SilverHeath

29

APR/10

He waited until he heard the receding footsteps of his young apprentice treading away down the hallway, before locking the door against unwanted intrusion. He then activated the magical ward that would prevent all sound from escaping past this door before returning to his paper cluttered desk.

Master Lynn sat back in his comfortable chair and pressed the hidden stud which opened the hidden compartment beneath his desk and scanned the handful of letters within. He paused frowning slightly as he found one marked with the secret symbol denoting it of utmost importance…

“My Lords, if possible the knowledge I have gained over the last few days may point to events occurring that are far worse even than I reported in my last missive. As I mentioned in my last message Silver Heath was my newfound friend’s next goal and one which we did arrive at safely.

Safely did we arrive, but safe we did not feel upon seeing the changes that had been wrought in this once pleasant town.

First of all, the town Reeves are no longer allowed to operate within the city limits. They have been replaced with town guards who wear quite boldly the insignia of the House of Elgar, the symbol of the purely human empire before the signing of the Irifani accord with the Elves. I know this is not illegal, but it is especially troubling due to all the recent rumors of Prince Valorens attempts to garner approval for his ascension to the throne of the Empire over that of the rightful heir and his half brother **, long may he reign!

Secondly the guards are showing open disdain for any non-humans. Something many of my companions were clearly distressed with. I get the impression that on their last visit here they were treated more warmly by the populous. There are also actual printed pamphlets being circulated blaming the Elves for many of the empires current problems.

On further investigation I was able to determine that the guards all seem to belong to the Temple of Correllean and are actively under the commands of Commander Dumbasse, who is a known supporter of Prince Valoren. My colleagues seemed quite upset at hearing this Dumbasse was at fault for the ‘banishment’ of the Reeves and their replacement. It seems they have some unwanted history with this man, and makes me all the more certain that I was wise to join with them as important events to the Empire continue to swirl about them.

Thirdly it seems that the Mayor has received a massive influx of coin as his mansion was being remodeled well above what one of his stature can normally afford. My newfound allies seemed quite certain that he was corrupt from some previous dealings they have had with him. More on him later my lords.

All this on its own is quite troubling enough, but what happened next was even more so. While taking respite for the evening in one of the local inns a Wizard within began to act very strangely. A Wizard a quick question to the barman revealed, who was working for the mayor rumor had it on something very secret. This man began to talk loudly to himself and when I turned to look upon him more closely I could see he was literally glowing like the sun itself to one with the eye to see the arcane. I have never seen its like, only heard it described in literary books from priests who have gazed upon near god-like beings, such as the messengers of the gods themselves. Suffice it to say no one man should contain the power I saw literally flowing off of him.

Of course one of the idiot guards confronted our seeming lunatic and all hell broke loose. With astonishing ease wizard picked up the entire table and brought it crashing down upon the, fortunate to survive but immediately unconscious, guardsman. He then ran screaming from the inn…and we of course followed. Our chase led us north of the town into the Silver Ghostlike flower field that the city is famous for…if the mayor had not strangely ordered said field recently burned to the ground. Here the mage began madly creating summoning portals from which creatures from the pits of hell began to pour forth. What is worse is one of these portals, in defiance of every law of magic we know to be true, remained open even after the magic’s that had created it vanished. We quickly rendered the magician unconscious and incapable of creating any more portals (he seemed capable of opening a limitless number if given the time).

After a harrowing battle we dispatched the summoned demons except for one which had escaped into the town itself. As we finished with the last of the beasts near the impossible portal, that one did return with a child in its arms and leapt through the portal. We gave chase through the plane of Chaos to retrieve this child and prevented him being sacrificed upon the altar before a half-dozen more of these creatures. The gateway did close behind us upon our return so that is one minor bit of good news I am able to report.

Upon our return the mayor of the town did take it upon himself to meet with us in secret. I know not why but all of my companions except the ranger, who had guided me to the Illuven Monastery, refused to speak with him at all. After talking with him it seems the mayor had thought to make some easy coin working behind the scenes with a shadowy organization (possibly the Black Council also known as the Thieves Guild) he could not be made to reveal the members of. I think he now realizes his mistake in joining with them, but is no longer in a situation to do anything but what he is told by them for fear of his own life. He did warn me that on the morrow blame for the wizards activities were going to be pinned on my new allies. He knows we saved the town from a possibly terrible fate, but he stated he was powerless to prevent what the guards would do in the morning.

He further revealed that the Wizard had been tasked with finding a way to increase the flow of magic energy beyond currently possible in the city of Endovar, and turning such efforts into large profits by selling said results on the Black Councils behalf. The portals he created and his unfortunate state seem most likely to be a result of these investigations/experiments. My friends have him in their custody and upon his return to consciousness I will report any information he has to give from his studies that led to the aforementioned events.

The last thing he said to me before departing is the most shocking and worrisome of all that happened during this terrible night. When I tried to imply that he should seek the aid of the Emperors secret agents and their help, he replied with a question of his own. “To which Emperor did I speak of?” My lords I think he was telling me that “another” has proclaimed himself in secret as the Emperor. And more shockingly this False Emperor and his agents seem to have access to great power and know far more of us then we know of them!

I will be leaving Silver Heath shortly with my companions, but I suggest someone try to contact the mayor and gain his confidence. He knows far more then he told me and could provide us with information we sorely lack.

Your loyal servant,
G

…Lynn closed his eyes and tried to rub the sudden tension from his forehead, as he placed the message within his pocket. After a brief moment of thought he nodded to himself. Yes Lord Silverhawks plans to dine with the foreign ambassador must be delayed; this was something he needed to be appraised of immediately.